White Swan starts her Flight to make room for the Loopholers to nest & manifest

Yes, after being in our womb at “Manifestation Bay” for far too long, the White Swan is finally taking flight on the giant custom built trailer (Home Depot Lumber Racks repurposed). The drive to her new home will be less than a day if all goes well, atop her new foundation by nightfall, but which day, and which night?

So far though, the scary part of being sure she would sit level, like it, and roll out of the Bay without resistance or snagging the electric wires above. All went well after she folded up and rolled on her skates across to have the trailer rolled under neath, then lifted up to hold her belly and test the weight against the welds. She passed and now we have a great space to build two Loopholer houses in two and a half days, with around 20 people on hand.

Goals and Ethos

Friday is pick it out

Design… Layout… and Go!

Saturday is Build the frame and

Sunday may be the interiors too if we are fast enough… and I think we can be if we work late into the night perhaps.

But first… We had to get the big house out of the way so that we could build in her place. Whew, it went well, fairly fast, and the house is now rolling on its path to Johnson City in the next few weeks. Yehaw. Now this is action that should get a reaction.

Yesterday we moved the White Swan tiny house in preparation for this weekend's building workshop. Super excited for this group of students 😬

Getting her on skates, then rolling her over, putting the trailer under in just the right spot to balance and not fall off… Priceless.

Looks like she should bounce a bit with all that clearance from the ground.

Look at her balancing so nice.

16 tires in one line of axle. Not your normal set of wheels under a house.

Just a bit tight with the upper roof still up, but tight is good.

Next is the plan for the seminar, picking the pieces and the parts will be a big part of the fun but it is also where you save the most work. Here is a preview of what I will cover in a few hours time as we pick the parts that will determine how fast and cool we can build.

Loopholer #1 Seminar Sequence

Friday:

Meet and Greet w/tour for finding the parts I want to use

Gathering and design Organically based on Materials on hand

Do some initial layouts,

Materials gathering:

How to analyze the selection value based on

time,

work,

preparation such as paint removal

modify e.g. size, glass, glazing, etc

encapsulate: frame, jamb, weather strip

Other considerations include cost of pieces

This all spells out the real cost based on the Human Energy & work experience needed, as well as simply time consuming Work needed to put items to use.

Value of human energy varies from person to person and some like the detail work versus the rough work.

Speed of construction will depend on these factors as we will demonstrate with severaldifferent material choices that show the difference in time, work, and results for the effort.

Here is the general plan to be detailed as we select the key elements.

This seminar will be the chance for people to learn how to build with the materials, and possibly take orders and build them for others closer to where you live. Thank you for your interest and sharing with others.

Imagine a cottage that starts out as a screened in portable building that can break down into 17 pieces and move. Add to that a few upgrades and it becomes an organic cottage for year round living, but still slips through the loopholes of regulations, HOAs and more. That is what this is all about.

Bang for the Buck as some like to say but in this way of thinking, it is the energy you use which is not to be wasted or given away when it is your currency in life.If you can save time which may be the most valuable thing you have by making a choice on a window or door that could take hours longer to prepare and install,.You are then doing it for the love of the item, look, or feel and that is not measurable using the same dollar valuation system for everyone.

What will we use? How will they turn out? Please tell your friends and follow so you too can create Loopholers where you live one day soon!

The Gypsy Too will be looking on for the whole of the event.

Angels looking upon us as we prepare to teach the teachers.

The Retreat and Gypsy Too are sharing the Bay for the moment alone, uncrowded, and looking good.

Jerry has a trailer and it will fold up so small, and travel very light.

The satisfaction one person gets out of a stained glass piece for example, is not the same as it might be for someone who would rather have a view of the hillside or trees intend and want a giant single pane window in the same spot.One will raise the cost of the house dramatically, the other not so much, yet both people may feel the house should be valued the same based on what is important to them.With salvage materials, the figural patterns of the grain of some wood that was hundreds of years old when harvested is art at its most heavenly level and only a good sanding and oil is needed to fully appreciate what too centuries to grow.

Cabinets pre-fab from the recent past or created anew using the doors and drawers from cabinets in houses built more than a century ago.I also like to use old wardrobes and parts of other furniture to create the bath or bedroom additions.

Sinks from the past that will fit in tiny space are especially fun.We have a few to choose from and the space issue will limit the choices in this even.Ours will be in the the corner cabinetry where we will hide a kitchen and a bath, a shower and a closet.

The use of old doors will allow us to create the raised panel wainscot and ceilings on this seminar so that the time it will take will be cut in to one third of the normal ceiling and many hours saved compared to creating a raised panel house from scratch.

Beaded wood, also known as wainscot, will allow us to be able to create the corners in a flash of color and style as well as trim, will add flavor and give strength few other forms of assembly can offer while doing it sustainably, with massive embodied energy that goes back generations.It makes a statement just by its existence to the quality of the materials we once had and took for granted.

Corrugated and V-groove roofing tin is another handy resource we will tap to create the Loopholer as it really offers many versatile ways to cover a lot of surface area fast… and cheap, but also durably.Not just for roofs, it is also for lowers side walls below the screens or siding as it gives you a quick to fix changeout down the road in a couple decades when it rusts through if not taken care of.You can oil the metal to keep from getting as much moisture deep into the metal but also to add color to it.The Big considerations on metal are the holes if used on the roof, then the size as cutting it is a pain in the ear, requires head set over ear plugs as the noise is really hard on the ears of those even standing nearby, let alone the person cutting.Next is to ALWAYS HAVE GLOVES ON WHEN WORKING WITH RUSTY TIN FOR ANY APPLICATION, AND GLASSES WHEN CUTTING IT WITH A SAW!!!!!

It will jump up and cut you like a snake for no reason but looking at it wrong.

Screens in this case, the great old style of wood that was mortise and tendon joints, great thick screening material that will look good and hold up for a decade or more if we can keep from messing it up when putting it in and transporting it later.These would cost hundreds of dollars apiece to have made today, especially if you used the ancient Cypress that they were crafted from over a century ago.These are not to be found or afforded by most average people unless you go into the salvage business as a team member, salvage broker, or work in a Pure Salvage Living Co-op where you could barter your time, skills, and knowledge into parts and pieces, or help to build your house.

The choices on the screens will then determine the sashes, which defines the glass and wood that holds it, which normally goes into a frame, then has trim around it to get called a window unit.We will play the hide and seek game with these so that when the people who do not want your Loopholer Cottage to be a house come out to visit, the windows will disappear, nearly without a trace and can suddenly reappear from the cubby under the house once needed again to keep the heat or cold from within your “Loopholer Screened in porch, which is legal in most places, HOA’s, backyards in town, etc.That is why it is called a “Loopholer” without defining the cottage or porch element beyond what is needed to get it into where you want it.

I often use the example that most people, even those we are most familiar with, do not see us as how we look, but the memory of us so that you can see if you change the haircut, the eye glasses, or style of makeup, it might take a while for your spouse or friends to pick up on it, thus proving they are not really looking at you as you are.This will apply to your screened in porch that has windows appear behind the screens and they need not know of the insulation or other upgrades that might hide within but not be seen from without.

Windows will vary in many ways in cost, work to do to use them, condition of the wood, weather stripping if it is an issue to keep it out, and the beauty of those that were hand blown and laid on a table as hot bubbles, then cut, split, and rolled out flat.This was done with coal pulled from the mines by 12 year olds and should be honored, appreciated, and preserved for what embodied energy it holds.Besides that, the energy saved by not creating the new glass to build ahouse with is enormous as the energy cost of melting sand to create glass is enough to heat and cool one of my Organically designed houses for 50 years.Besides that, by using the vintage sashes that were often made from Cypress that will last for another hundred years, you will be far ahead of the 12-15 years of expected life of a newly created double paned glass energy efficient window, particularly out of vinyl which is created out of OIL.Thus not only will you be needing more oil to make more vinyl 8 times in the next century, the alternative Cypress sash will still be in use.

Best of all, the Endocrine Disruptive Compounds given off by the vinyl will not have to be reintroduced into your tiny house every decade or so thus bringing into your lungs what is in effect a carbon copy of estrogen that will end up being absorbed into your child’s brain if they are still under say 8 years old.No need for that in my opinion.

Flooring is easy to pick from many choices but the last use, the colors if painted, the wear, finish, size making a big difference on how long it takes to lay it.If it needs a great deal of cleaning, more man power needed.The width means more or less pieces to handle, the lengths mean the same with more ends to square cut to finish.

The condition of the surface will determine how long it will take to install and finish, in some cases, as with a red porch paint on in its prior life, no way to get it off or change it.The weathering, cracking, grain, lengths, and match of the pieces to themselves as far as tongue and grooves are also considerations we will examine in the talk.

Siding, a many varied thing, is not something we will need a lot of for the Loopholers we are creating this time around.Most of them are going to be screen and windows, but you will get a chance to play with some Clapboard or T-117 siding which is also known as novelty or waterfall siding.We may also show how 1×12 for board and batten houses can be used but may not use this unless the group votes for it.

Yes!We will let the group vote but that does not mean they will win… heh…. just be considered in the final design so… be prepared to sell the pieces you like if the opportunity is given to the group here for the pick Friday evening.

Okay, it is late, I am due to workout in the morning, then lead a weekend of creative organic design with 95% Pure Salvage materials that will show you how to do it too.Please join me on our site, Facebook through the day, and follow up with watching the videos and other lessons learned on the puresalvageliving.com community website.

Then Saturday is a build day, and Sunday a build day, hopefully with people still willing to work no matter how hot it gets, or wait until the evening to finish if they can not handle our shade heat as we should have it most of the day. I will have a fan or two about as well to help but the heat is a great part of Texas so those just visiting will not go home without a decent dose so the snow next week up there will seem extra cold. Heh!

I have some ideas and plans for what we can do fast, with the least human energy, and efficiently given the salvage on hand, and there is a bit to pick from, so Friday night is a run, pick, and design night, then Saturday, off to the Manifestation Races.

Hope you can join us later with the video and possibly book for those who want to get into making Loopholers for your self or others as a side business, full time career, or way to use your extra salvage from your own Salvage Bootcamps.

Thanks for following and your interest in the Pure Salvage Living Renaissance.

Darby

Thank you for considering this lifestyle of living simpler, of creating a new path that we can be proud of and we hand it off to the generations that will follow us.

Copyright 2017 Salvage Texas LLC. - All Rights Reserved. If you would like to use photographs of any of our houses in your blog, article or publication, please email us for permission first. We simply require full attribution and a link to our website in return for usage. We are sorry, we don't allow usage of photos of our houses on websites selling competitor's house plans or tiny house construction.